STRAY KIDS ONESHOTS/IMAGINES || OT8

lipstick . chan

You and Chan were friends, long before he had joined JYP as a trainee, and you had pursued your passion as a makeup artist. Both of you had parted ways in 10th grade, but lo and behold, here you were, being assigned makeup artist for the very group he had debuted in - Stray Kids.

You hadn't planned on seeing Chan again, and when you received your application and found you'd been placed in JYP's rookie idol group you could have sworn your mouth hung open so wide a fly could have flown in.

You had a crush on Chan for the longest time, and you'd considered the talented, handsome young man totally off limits. You heaved a sigh of relief, though, when you were assigned to Jisung. You were imagining embarrassing yourself as you stared at Chan's beautiful face, hands trembling... he was so close to you...

"Y/n?" another makeup artist who called herself Em, called to you, snapping you out of your trance. The both of you had been working together for a year now, and you both were packing to head around the world, on Stray Kids' first ever world tour.

"I'm all done! We can head out soon." you smiled, slamming your luggage shut.

"The staff are waiting for us at Terminal 3. We won't see the guys until we reach Japan, so we have some time off before the..." she waved her lipstick around in her hand, "work begins."

Em was Chan's makeup artist, and coincidentally the only one who knew about your stupid crush. She'd teased you about it but she knew her limits. You wouldn't risk your job, Chan's reputation or your dignity, for that matter, or whatever was left of your dignity.

Chan wasn't helping you with your "I need to stop liking him" phase, constantly catching you out to talk. He was being awfully sweet, but then again, he'd always been. You talked about the past, and that was about it. You needed to bury your feelings for him, and quickly. Before he found out.

~

"Stray kids! Stray kids!" you could hear the fans chanting outside. Backstage, it was chaos as hairstylists ran about checking the members' hair, makeup artists were doing the final touch ups, and the group's manager was shouting at everyone to take their places.

" You're good to go!" you hastily but elegantly finished drawing Jisung's eyebrow, and he thanked you before jogging to his position on the platform. As it rose, the fan's cheers got louder, more excited. Chan was leading the first song, and you could hear them chanting his name. Another reason you should give him up, y/n. Look at how many fans he has. They love him, what makes you think he'll like plain old you?

You cleaned up your makeup station, waiting for the next interval - and then you would have to go back to work. Just then, Em rushed up to you, face pale and clutching her stomach. "Y/n, I have a really bad tummy ache, I have to rush to the washroom. If I'm still not here by the interval please help me with Chan's makeup, please," she was sweating, and you were worried for her, not even bothering to consider the possibility she might not be back in time for touch ups.

"I'll take care of it, go before you puke on me!" you patted her back.

She wiggled her eyebrows, "Hopefully I don't come back so soon!" before running off.

" You twerp! Do you even have a stomach ache to begin with?" you called angrily after your friend who was already halfway to the toilet.

What if she really doesn't make it back? I can't face Chan, she knows that! But then again, what are the chances...

~

The first interval was nearing and you were getting impatient. Jittery, even. Em was still not back, and you couldn't risk making a trip to the toilet to check on her. There was limited manpower already, with two artists down. Thankfully, I didn't eat the food on the plane.